Portrait photograph of Ethel Waters, I [X N:11], Aug. 28, 1938
Dates
- Creation: Aug. 28, 1938
Conditions Governing Access
The physical materials from this collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives. Materials should be requested two to three days in advance to facilitate easier access. Contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to schedule an appointment.
Biographical / Historical
(1896-1977) popular singer and actress. She grew up in Philadelphia and became a vaudeville singer, cultivating a style that differed from Southern contemporaries such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. She began recording in 1921, and some of her early performances used scat-singing made famous by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. By the 1930’s she forged a career as a mainstream popular singer and by the end of the decade began appearing as a stage actress. She was the first back entertainer to move successfully from vaudeville to what black performers called ‘the white time’. From 1960 to 1975 Waters toured with the evangelist Billy Graham. (Source: Pleasants 2001, Oxford Music Online)
Full Extent
1 Photographic Prints : gelatin silver print ; 11 x 14 inches
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Repository
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
About this Site
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Requesting Materials
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